Not Sure Yet
by Wotcher-Tonks
Summary: NaNoWriMo.Angela Weber is having a bad summer.To get money for school,she gets a job at the La Push library working with a girl named Kim taking a history of La Push.There's something strange about La Push,too,and when Angela meets Seth the plot thickens.
1. Prologue

**A/N This is the Prologue to my NaNoWriMo fic. The title is as yet undetermined, and updates on this will be erratic, since I am mostly focused on getting the fifty thousand words down, not updating it here frequently. Feel free to PM me if you want to know more about NaNoWriMo.**

**Warning- Being NaNoWriMo, this writin may be incoherent or contain bad grammar. Thanks for reading.**

**Not Sure Yet**

I sat on a rock on the edge of First Beach and looked out at the water with blurry vision.

What was wrong with me? My boyfriend had just dumped me, and I couldn't find the money to pay for college.

It was all just so wrong.

Ben had been the man of my dreams- what went wrong there? We had grown apart, I guess, even though we were going to the same university. I was involved with my studies in literature, and he, computer programming. And try as we might, we couldn't find a common interest.

I tried, believe me, I tried. But one romantic date wasn't enough to bridge the gap we had made between ourselves.

We had talked and laughed and kissed that night, but as we said goodbye, I could already feel the gap, the chasm between us opening again.

We looked at each other, and I knew Ben could feel it too. His eyebrows furrowed for a moment, and then he said…

"I think we should break up, Angela."

I agreed, and we parted.

It was a necessary break, but that didn't mean I liked it.

That was last night, and now, this gray morning, I was sitting on a rock at the edge of First Beach, staring at the dark gray waves and feeling sorry for myself.

What would I do without Ben? My best friend, my boyfriend, my almost-fiancé?

Yes, we had talked about marriage. A lot in the early days, when we were completely intoxicated with love. But as time passed, talks of matrimony came more and more rarely, until finally they stopped altogether.

The strange thing was, even though I knew it was coming, I was still surprised.


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N mwahahaha. chapter one- finished already! I don't know if it's freaking fantastic or a piece of crap, so please review!** _**I'm going into a frantic writing mode, and reviews soothe me!**_

Chapter One-

As the shadows lengthened and the sky grew dark, I stood up and headed home. My family was very understanding- my mom sat me in front of the TV with a blanket and some Ben & Jerry's, and my father said that God had a plan for me and that it would all turn out for the best. I knew he meant well, but my mother's offerings were far more appealing to me at that moment than my minister father's prayers.

Ben called my cell phone, but I didn't answer. What was I supposed to say?

_Hey, how are you doing? I'm doing fine, despite the fact that we broke up yesterday after two years of being together. And adding the fact that my scholarship money is running out, I'm just doing dandy. _

No. I just wouldn't answer him at all. He texted too, but I couldn't bring myself to look at the texts. Even if he wanted to get back together, I knew it wouldn't work out. It sounded like such a cliché, but we had grown apart.

I realized a fatal mistake I had made, one that countless teen magazines warn about and countless teen girls ignore the warnings of. _Don't ever ditch your friends for your boyfriend._ Well, I had. Of course, most of the girls at Forks High were snobs who made fun of me behind my back for not having as much money as them, (my family was literally "as poor as church mice",) but there had been a few that I had forsaken to spend more time with Ben.

Well, there was Bella, but she was at Dartmouth with Edward, having the time of her life with her perfect relationship. I cringed. I couldn't believe the venom in my thoughts. I was normally a very nice person. _That's what getting dumped does to you. _Even though it had pretty much been mutual, I still couldn't help assigning the blame to Ben. A human failing, I guess. My father talked about those a lot.

I hadn't really bothered to make friends at University of Washington either. I had just shown up to class and thrown myself into the work. I loved literature, and felt that that was what I truly wanted to do with my life- teach literature, whether to second-graders, sophomores, or grad students. I had immersed myself in my work and Ben. And now that I no longer had Ben, what was left? School? Funny, because my scholarship money was dwindling away (why is education so expensive?)

So without school, and without Ben, I didn't have much to fall back on. My father would say that I always had Jesus, but I wanted something concrete to cling to.

Isn't it funny how you realize what you did wrong way afterward, when you have the most reason to regret it? I didn't have any friends. All I had was my books and my ice cream and my mom who didn't quite understand that part of it was my fault, and my father who just said a prayer for me and went off to work? He was always working at the church, always helping others. A churchaholic, but how could I resent his absence when he was helping others?

Lord help me. I was incoherent.

I fell asleep watching an old rerun of the Brady Bunch. The overly sincere characters always made me long for a time when there were no problems with boyfriends or fathers or scholarship money.

I had a strange dream, where I was getting married to a faceless man, as our many children stood on either side of us at the altar. Suddenly, a wolf ran through the church aisle, sat in front of the tape recording of my father that was marrying us (he had been called away on some church duty and was unable to attend), and howled the Brady Bunch theme song.

I woke up with the last line of the song on my lips.

_And that's the way we became the Brady Bunch!_

Gosh, I have weird dreams. This one was probably induced by the combination of stress and dessert before sleeping, but it still seemed a bit…I don't know. However, I had better things to worry about. Like explaining to my mother that I wouldn't be able to pay for my second year at college.

She already felt guilty for the times I came home crying in elementary school because people had made fun of my hand-me-down clothes. And when I had a graduation party in the courtyard of the church my father was minister of, because we couldn't afford to rent a ballroom or even a gymnasium like many of my classmates.

I already felt guilty for putting a financial burden on my family. The cost of the textbooks alone, even with my large scholarship, was still enough to give my mother headaches.

I got up from the sofa, rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, and entered the kitchen to find my mother sitting at the breakfast table with bills and a checkbook.

"Mom," I began.

"Yes, dear?" she replied, and she turned to look up at me, smiling at me kindly.

"Mom, I…I'm going to look for a job."

"That's a good idea, dear!" She beamed proudly, and pulled the classified section from the newspaper quick as a flash. I blinked a little in surprise. It was as though she had been hoping I would say that. My mother was so _nice_.

I flipped open the paper. There were hundreds of ads- I was sure that I could find something in there.

I spent the greater part of an hour reading the wanted ads. Some required advanced skills that I would only qualify for after college. What a Catch-22. Others sounded kind of…sketchy. There were only three that I was really interested in. One was at a bookstore in Olympia, the second was being a lifeguard at a pool in Seattle, and the third was working at the library in La Push.

My mother came by to check on me (I think she was worried that I would do something stupid in my duress,) and fixed me a glass of milk. She treated me like a kid quite a lot, but I didn't really mind. That was her way of showing affection.

"Did you see anything you like?" she asked.

"There are a few that seem interesting. I'll call the numbers and see what they're looking for."

She brightened. "Angela, I just remembered. Your grandmother sent some money for school last week. It's not enough to cover the cost, but it'll help."

She rooted around for the check. Handing it over to me, she watched my face excitedly, proud to help her daughter.

She was right. There wasn't much compared to the money needed for school, but it was almost a thousand dollars. I knew that just like my parents, my grandparents had scrimped and saved to give me what they could. I felt overwhelmed by the generosity of my family.

"How did they get this much?" I wondered. My grandparents were just as poor as we were, but they were frugal and financially savvy beyond belief. They lived in a modest house and enjoyed their retirement, but they still had trouble making ends meet occasionally.

My mother's face, so easy to read, showed traces of guilt. "Well…" I almost expected her to scuff her foot on the floor while avoiding my eyes like a child afraid of being reprimanded.

"I told your Aunt Sue."

I suppressed a groan. Aunt Sue was the worst gossip in our family. Sometimes, I wondered if she was related to Jessica Stanley or Jessica's mom instead of our large, but calm brood.

Aunt Sue also had the most active imagination. She had probably told everybody that I was about to be booted out of school owing thousands of dollars, and forced to beg for money on the mean streets of Seattle. That would explain the money. My grandmother, a very headstrong woman had probably started a phone tree with Aunt Sue to raise money for me. I was a little embarrassed, (I had my pride,) but I appreciated the fact that my family was so caring.

My mom hugged me and asked if I was okay.

"Not yet," I said. "But I think I will be."


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

I spent the next hour making phone calls. I was put on hold for thirty minutes by the bookstore in Olympia. After the thirtieth minute, the smooth Muzak irritated me to the point where I slammed the phone down. My mother heard it and came running into the kitchen to see me breathing hard, glaring at the phone and about to cry.

She knew, with her mom intuition that all moms seem to possess, that I wasn't really crying because I was tired of hearing _Brick House_ and _Build Me up Buttercup_. It was because of Ben. I missed him so much already. I missed his laugh, and the way his glasses were always slipping down his nose, and his admittedly geeky passion for vintage comic books.

"It'll get easier," she promised. I wiped the tears away, sniffled, and smiled shakily. She hugged me tightly and said, "You'll always have me." I felt a little better, and after blowing my nose and washing my face, I was determined to get a job. There were two left- the lifeguard job and the library job.

The phone rang twelve times at the city pool. Finally, someone picked it up, and a sleepy, irritated voice inquired, "What?"

Trying to remain unperturbed, I said, albeit a bit timidly, "I'm calling about the lifeguard position."

"What lifeguard position?" He sounded a lot more awake now.

"Well, you placed an ad-"

I was interrupted by his sudden, raucous laughter. I heard a clatter as if the phone was being laid down, and heard him say to someone nearby, "There's a chick calling about our little pool ad! Should I get her number?"

Oh. So there wasn't really a Seattle community pool looking for a lifeguard. Well then.

He came back on the phone and said, "We have quite a few people applying. If I could please have your number, we'll call you back shortly."

His friend said loudly in the background, "How many chicks' numbers have we gotten this way today?"

The phone hit the floor with a clatter as the guy dropped the phone and socked his friend. "Shut up, retard!"

I rolled my eyes, and then, when I realized that they couldn't see me, hung up.

"Jerks," I muttered to myself. What was up with guys being so…stupid? What was up with guys in general? Did they have some sort of brain defect that made them stupid once they hit puberty?

My phone vibrated on the kitchen table nearby. _Ben._

I stared at my cell phone, frozen with indecision. Should I read the message and possibly hurt worse or ignore it and begin to move on? The phone was still buzzing. It was Pandora's box, and I wanted to open it so badly. Read it or not?

It was obvious what I would choose. I reached over to the table and opened the phone with trembling hands.

_Angela- Im Sorry. Lets tlk bout this. _

What should I do? What should I do?

I stared at my phone for a good five minutes before my overprotective mother, worried by the silence came in. She picked up my phone, read the message, and said, "Oh, honey."

"What am I supposed to do, Mom?" I asked her, my voice breaking.

She hesitated. I knew why. It wasn't as if dating was my mother's area of expertise- she had dated my father since their sophomore year at Forks High, and they got married right after high school. Still, she was my mom, so she was obligated to give me advice, right?

"Talk to him."

"What?" I yelped. I had been hoping she wouldn't say that. I just wanted to bury my head in the sand until it was over, not overturn the can of worms that was Ben and I's breakup. I really didn't want to dig through all of our issues.

"That's the only way you can have closure," she advised.

Grudgingly, I agreed to talk to him, and sent him a text saying to call me. My mother set me up at the kitchen table with a box of tissues and a bowl of ice cream, and handed me the phone.

I dialed Ben's number.

He picked up on the first ring, which made me feel guilty. Then I remembered that it was his idea to break up, and that we had been growing apart.

"Angela?" His hopeful voice cut me like a razor.

"Hi, Ben."

"So…"

"Ben, I don't know if you're having second thoughts or if you just want to clear the air, but I want you to know that I think that this is for the best."

Where did that come from? Yet I knew it was the truth.

"Why, Angela?"

"You felt it too, don't pretend otherwise, Ben. We had something great for a while, but it just…dissolved."

"We can fix it," he said defiantly.

I was torn by my conflicting desires. Half of me wanted to run back into Ben's arms, but half of me knew that we were better off apart.

"Ben, listen to me. It was magic, at the beginning, but near the end, there was hardly any spark, any life in it." I winced. I could hear my Creative Writing professor in my mind, chastising me for my rampant use of clichés. "It was just getting tired. We were going through the motions."

"Angela, please…"

Why was he doing this? He was the one who said we should break up.

"Ben, you were the one who said we should break up. "

He groaned. "I know, but, you're one of the best things that ever happened to me, and I don't want to let go of that so quickly."

"Ben," I said gently. "It's for the best. We weren't happy. We don't have much in common anymore."

"I guess you're right," he said, sounding defeated.

"Ben, I'll always love you- just not like that anymore."

"I love you too. Stay safe. See you at school."

I thought for a moment, then decided not to tell him that I might not be coming back to school. He sounded stressed enough. I didn't want him feeling obligated to be my ex-knight in shining armor.

I sighed, then laid my head down on the table and cried.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Once I was done crying, (how much had I cried in the past two days?), I dialed the number for the La Push Public Library.

On the third ring, a friendly sounding girl picked up and said, "La Push Public Library."

"Hello," I said. "I'm calling about the position open. "

"Oh, good!" she exclaimed cheerily. "You have to be at least eighteen, and you don't have to live in La Push. The wages are a bit slim, but it's loads of fun!"

"I'm nineteen," I told her, "and I'm looking for a summer job to help pay for school." I hadn't meant to tell her that much, but something about her voice inspired confidence.

"I know how you feel," she declared. "I'm in my senior year at the community college, and I have to work two jobs to pay for it. I had a scholarship, but those only go so far, you know?"

"That's the problem I'm having!" I cried. Wow. This was a little freaky.

"Well, you're the only one who's applied so far, so just come in on Monday and I'll show you the ropes. Oh, I nearly forgot! I'm Kim."

"I'm Angela," I told her.

We said goodbye, and I hung up the phone, feeling quite satisfied with myself. It was a little too early to hope, but I thought I might have just made a friend. And, I was on my way to being able to pay for college.

My mother came in the room, (I think she spent the whole day right outside it).

She took one look at my face, and said, "The library?"

"Yes."

"I'm glad," she told me earnestly. "You can earn money doing what you love. As long as you don't spend the day reading the books you're supposed to be shelving, I think you'll do well there. Things will get better, I promise."

Sunday was spent going to church, where certain members of my father's congregation came up to me and discreetly handed me money with a smile and a wink, and reading a new book I had gotten before all this trouble started and hadn't gotten to read yet.

I tried not to think about Ben, though my phone vibrated a couple of times that day, with messages from him. I didn't respond. People who have just broken up with each other shouldn't be conversing all the time right after, right?

I fell asleep early, in front of the TV again, this time to the Andy Griffith Show.

My alarm I had set on my phone woke me up promptly in the morning. I dressed in an outfit I had laid out the night before, after consulting with my mother. We had finally settled on something that was casual yet nice- jeans and a polo.

I drove to La Push, feeling nervous and jittery the whole way. I wanted so badly to fit in at my new job, to earn this money, and maybe make some new friends along the way.

Kim seemed really nice, and I hoped that she would like me.

I arrived at the library, which was a small building with old oaks surrounding it. There was a truck parked in the tiny lot next to it, and for the most part it seemed deserted. A modest sign told the name and hours of the library.

I took a deep breath, and walked in.

The library consisted of two rooms, one main room for the library, and a smaller room behind the circulation desk that looked like an office/workroom. There were cheery posters proclaiming the joys of reading hanging on the yellow painted walls, and a corner of the library was set up as a reading nook for children, with beanbags and pillows strewn around it.

A girl sat behind the front desk reading. I recognized the book she was engrossed in- it had been one of my favorites last year. It was worn looking, but lacked the glossy cover of a library book, so I figured it must be a favorite of hers.

Hesitantly, I walked up to the desk. The girl didn't notice my presence. I stood there awkwardly for a moment, and then cleared my throat to announce my presence.

The girl tore her eyes away from the page reluctantly, and with a sheepish smile, she placed a bookmark in the book and slid it away from her.

She looked up at me. "You must be Angela," she said.

"That's me," I replied.

"Welcome to our humble library," she said, waving her arm at our surroundings in a sweeping motion. "I'm Kim."

So this was Kim. We shook hands, and I took the opportunity to study her. She had thin hair swept into a messy ponytail, and a bold nose, and a wide smile. She wore a small ring around her ring finger made of delicate silver wire with an intricate design of a wolf on it.

"Lovely ring," I told her.

She glanced down at it, smiled as if there were some private joke, and said, "Thank you."

"Who made it?" I asked her.

She smiled that secret smile again, and said, "My boyfriend."

I cringed at the reminder of significant others. This was an alley of conversation that I really didn't want to go down right now. Kim must have seen it, for she raised an eyebrow.

"I broke up with my boyfriend of two years two days ago," I admitted. Her face immediately changed, and she quickly pulled me into a hug,(I was getting hugged a lot lately!) saying, "That sucks!"

"Yeah," I agreed. "It really does."

"Well," she said, face brightening. "We have a big project that we're undertaking here at the library, and you'll be so busy with that that you won't have time to think about that nasty business!"

"I'm curious," I said. "Tell me more, please."


	5. Chapter 4

**Hit a creative roadblock but am on the highway again.**

Chapter Four:

As Kim showed me round the library, she told me excitedly about the library's project.

It was certainly interesting sounding, and I already looked forward to helping her out with it. It entailed taking a history of the Quileute tribe, taking down all of the legends, and tracing family trees. It would be hard work, but very helpful for the community. Kim also said that she was thinking of gathering the best myths into a collection and publishing it for some extra income for the library.

Her plan mostly consisted of interviewing all of the elders, and searching through the journals of older generations.

At one point, I asked her who else worked on this project.

"Oh," she said, as if she was just remembering. "Just you and me. No one else really wants to help. In fact, I'm pretty much the head librarian here, though Sue Clearwater runs it while I'm at school. I'm just the only one with loads of free time round here. And with an insane amount of interest in dusty old books," she laughed.

I laughed too, and assured her that she was not alone, and we spent the next half-hour talking about our current favorites. We also spent a good bit talking about the book she had been reading when I arrived, which turned out to also be one of our common favorites. It turned out we had a crush on the same character, and both of us wished strongly for a sequel.

"So," she said brightly. "Today, we'll just be making our master list of just who we're going to interview. Then we're going to go in the Closet of Old Things and dig up the library's dinosaur tape recorder. "

We found the tape recorder after forty-five minutes of looking, buried beneath a stack of National Geographics from the late sixties. While we were looking, Kim chattered more about the project. I could tell that this was a subject that the passionate Kim was particularly enthused about.

When I asked her what her major was, and she said Native American History, I was not surprised one bit. She explained how the summer project's birth was her need for scholarship money combined with her love of history and La Push's need of recorded history.

While she had been showing me around the library, only one person had entered, an old woman checking out a huge stack of mystery novels. She murmured her thanks and Kim waved brightly at her as she left.

"Now, "Kim sighed. "We begin."

***

We started off by going to the house of a Mr. Quil Ateara. He was almost ninety years old, Kim told me, and knew the legends like the back of his hand. I was really excited at the prospect of hearing some new stories.

Mr. Quil Ateara Sr. was sitting on his front porch in a rocking chair, with a cane resting against his chair, and a sour expression on his wrinkled face. A boy was saying goodbye to him, and immediately after "Old Quil" said goodbye in a gruff voice, the boy turned and ran into the nearby forest. I watched, already curious.

We stopped at the steps to the porch, and Kim called out politely, "May we speak with you, Mr. Ateara?"

"Anytime, Kim," he replied, suddenly friendly. I wondered at his apparent change of moods.

"Well, you know the project we're starting at the library?"

"Yes."

"Well, we were wondering if we could interview you for the records, sir. We don't have to do it all in one session, we can meet multiple times."

"Well," Mr. Ateara said, "Aren't you going to introduce your friend here?"

"Oh!" Kim exclaimed. She flushed a little, and I realized that she must be shy. Strange that she had been so open with me, but I had met people like her before, people who are at ease with strangers right away, but timid around ones familiar to them. Or maybe it was because Old Quil had something about him that demanded respect and courtesy, even though he gave off an air of friendliness and seemed easy-going.

I took over for her.

"Pleased to meet you, Mr. Ateara. I'm Angela Weber, and I'm helping Kim with her project this summer. "

I extended my hand out, and Mr. Ateara shook it, saying, "Glad to meet you. I'm Mr. Quil Ateara, Sr., but please call me Old Quil. Everybody does, don't worry about offending me." He winked.

Kim smiled at me gratefully, and Old Quil waved his hand at the porch in a sweeping gesture. "Please have a seat."

We sat in the two extra rocking chairs. I got the feeling that many people came to Old Quil for advice or conversation. He was very charming, and from what Kim had told me, everyone listened to his opinions.

I got the tape recorder out of its bag, put a new tape in, and Kim, said, "Test. Test." We played it back, and it worked. Old Quil watched us, with an amused smile on his face.

"Kim --- and Angela Weber, interviewing Quil Ateara Senior. July 2nd, 2009."


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N Just so you guys know, Kim's last name is dashed out in the story because I haven't come up with one yet. **

Chapter Five:

Old Quil talked. He talked until the sun began to sink into the trees, turning every-thing a sort of rosy green dappled color.

We dutifully listened, Kim and I taking turns operating the tape recorder. We had to replace the tape two times.

Old Quil told us all these fantastic legends about people turning into wolves to fight what sounded like vampires. Kim nodded along at points in the stories as though she was familiar with them, which she probably was. They were all new to me, however, and I listened hard.

I knew they weren't true, but they struck a chord in me. They were terribly exciting, and many of them spoke of love. There was one about something the wolf-people did called imprinting. Basically, it was love at first sight. Old Quil spent at least forty minutes talking about it. Some of the stories were sad, but others were about how it felt to find your true love, and gave me hope that maybe I would find someone after Ben.

One made me cry a little. It was about the pack of "werewolves" accidentally killing their brother's imprint. The brother committed suicide because without his imprint he was only half.

"That is why they are called imprints," Old Quil said heavily, and I saw that Kim had tears running down her face. She seemed particularly affected by all the imprinting stories. Maybe she was a big romantic at heart. ", because one is like a copy of another pattern, and the two patterns are intertwined. They are imprinted in each other's souls. Forever."

He let out a sigh, and settled back into his rocking chair.

Kim reached over and stopped the tape recorder, and we sat in silence for a second as crickets chirped around us and leaves rustled. The only light nearby was the porch light, and the dark trees seemed to surround us. It was peaceful and frightening at the same time.

We all stared at our hands in silent contemplation. This was heavy stuff. They were tales of love, loss, and a brotherhood unlike any I had ever heard of in book or movie. The bonds of the pack seemed to conquer all, as they lived, fought, died, and fell in love.

Kim was twisting her silver ring around her finger, the one with the delicate little wolf on it. I understood a little bit more why she had a wolf, it was probably popular in tribal jewelry, but I felt like there was more to the story than that.

Old Quil had been staring at the forest as though it held deep secrets, his bushy white eyebrows furrowed as though in profound though.

He caught me studying him, smiled at me, and said, "Makes me miss the old days, these stories do."

A wolf howled in the distance, and what sounded like several wolves howled an answer back. Old Quil's eyes shone in the dim glow from the porch light. Beside me, Kim was very still, as though she was holding her breath.

As the howls ended, and the night grew quiet again save for the insects chirping, Old Quil turned to me and said, "Makes you wonder, doesn't it?"

"Wonder what?" I asked, feeling shaky for some reason.

"About the stories. I've seen so much, done so much, and I know in my heart that they're true. Do you think they're true?"

I wondered what he meant. His leathery face was unreadable in the feeble light. I felt like this was a puzzle, these stories, and I was missing a crucial piece.

"I…I don't know," I replied honestly. "They seem so real…"

A wolf howled as if in response, and Old Quil raised an eyebrow at me.

"Have a good night, girls," he said, changing the subject abruptly.

Kim and I thanked Old Quil sincerely, said our goodbyes, and headed to the car.

We were both quiet, and after a minute I broke the silence by asking, "This may be a personal question, but do you believe those stories?"

Kim hesitated, and then said, "Depends which ones you mean."

"The ones about werewolves. Old Quil says they still exist. Do you believe that as well?"

Kim was quiet for a moment, and said cryptically, "In some ways, they are."

We spent the rest of the drive back in silence, pondering what we had heard. Kim twisted her wolf ring around as we walked around the library, tidying up the shelves, storing the tapes, and locking up for the night.

I wondered about that ring. Was it possible that there was more to those stories than just them being fanciful legends to fill gaps in their history? Could these mystical creatures really exist?

And if werewolves existed, wouldn't that mean that vampires existed too?

I shivered at the thought, and as Kim and I parted ways in the parking lot, I looked over my shoulder before opening my car door.

Just in case.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter Six:

My mother asked me how work had gone at dinner that night.

I thought for a moment, then said, "Interesting." I told her about the project and told her a legend or two. I didn't tell her what Old Quil had said, though. For some reason, I wanted to keep that to myself. It was something private, a mystery I wanted to solve on my own.

We ate in silence, my mother absorbed in a book and I in my thoughts.

The next morning, Kim and I drove back to Old Quil's. Kim was acting as if nothing had happened yesterday, and I went along with it.

When we got to Old Quil's, the same boy from yesterday was sitting there, talking to Old Quil. As we watched, Old Quil threw back his head and laughed. I wondered who the boy was- he was very tall, but gangly, as though he hadn't quite grown into himself yet. He seemed about sixteen, but he looked around my age (nineteen.) He had short black hair and smooth russet skin, and an easy smile lit up his face.

I immediately wanted to meet him. As we got to the steps, the boy said, "Hey, Kim!"

"What's up, Seth?" Kim asked.

"Not much. Jacob's freaking out about that thing I told you about the other night. Otherwise, it's good."

Then, Seth turned, and looked at me. The instant his dark eyes met mine, I could feel something shifting within me. We held eye contact for almost a minute, and I felt the shifting thing settle, as if something were suddenly aligned within me.

Why was I at this house? Seth. Something about history? Seth. Legends, wolves, Kim, Ben, books, scholarship, Seth. Everything kept wheeling around in my head and coming back to him.

After that long minute, hour, day, year, (I didn't know), Seth broke the eye contact.

"W-what's your name?" he asked, sounding nervous and God, his voice was music and something in my heart pulled me to him, drew me like a magnet.

"Angela," I managed to say shakily.

I was dimly aware of Old Quil and Kim watching us. Old Quil was nodding and Kim said, "Holy shit."

I stuck my hand out, purely on an instinct instilled in me by my father years ago. It was shaking and I was sure it was clammy. Seth took it, and his hands were so big and reddish-brown, and it wasn't just me, his hand was shaking too, his huge hand over my small one, and it felt so right and it clicked.

We didn't let go, not for another indeterminable amount of time, and I snuck a look at Old Quil and Kim. Kim was standing there, mouth open, saying, "Oh my god. I can't believe it. Holy shit. I have to tell Jared…"

Old Quil patted Seth on the back as if in congratulations, and went inside his house where I could hear him phoning somebody and talking to them. I was completely confused. What was going on?

I quickly looked back at Seth, hoping he could provide an explanation. But he was still standing there, smiling at me gently. He seemed completely calm suddenly, as though he had realized something. Good for him. I was still absolutely disoriented. No guy had ever affected me like this, not even Ben.

_Slow down,_ I told myself. _You only broke up with Ben, what, four days ago?_

_So?_ A larger part of me answered. _Something important is happening right now, and you're standing there worrying about ex-boyfriends. _

_But it was only four days ago_, I argued.

_Listen!_ The instinctual part of me demanded. _There is something going on here bigger than you can imagine. This is the real thing. _

I felt shaky all over. Seth noticed, and leaped gracefully off the step to stand next to me. "Are you alright?" he asked me, his face touched with alarm.

"I-I-I think I need to sit down," I stuttered.

He put a hand on my arm, and I started, not from surprise at the touch, but because every nerve on my body reacted as though it were a bolt of lightning. His hand was warm, unnaturally warm, and I remembered Old Quil saying, _The wolves had high temperatures all the time. _

But that was just a story, so I let Seth guide me up the steps to a rocking chair. Once I sat down, he pulled a chair out for himself, not looking away, and continued to peer into my face.

"Are you sure you're alright?" he asked worriedly.

He was so beautiful, his face open and friendly, and it almost hurt to look at him and his suddenly hesitant smile. I wanted to look away from his face, but I couldn't. There was something like cables drawing me near to him, and he pulled his chair a little closer as if he felt it too.

I felt abruptly embarrassed. Here I was, acting like a swooning lovesick lady, when there was work to do. Kim and Old Quil were probably laughing themselves sick over my behavior. I could feel myself blushing. Oh, gosh. I hardly ever blushed. This boy was probably three years younger than me. I was acting ridiculously.

"I-I'm fine," I forced out. "I-I don't know what came over me just now."

Seth's brow furrowed, and I hated to see concern on his friendly face. I wanted to reach out and smooth the furrow out with my fingers, and just barely managed to prevent myself from doing so.

We looked at each other for a minute, and I tried to figure it out.

Something was tugging gently at the back of my brain, a hint of an idea niggling me. I thought harder and suddenly I remembered.

_Kim's secret smile when she told me her boyfriend had given her the wolf ring…_

_Old Quil staring at the forest as though it held secrets…_

_Kim crying at the werewolf legends..._

_Wolves howling in the distance…_

_Werewolves…_

_Vampires…_

Imprinting.


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven:

Kim and Old Quil came back outside to find Seth and I still sitting there, staring at each other.

"Thanks a lot, Seth," Kim said sarcastically. "Now I owe Jared five bucks."

Seth tore his eyes off of me to say, "You were betting on me?"

"Of course, kid," Kim said. "Jacob says that Leah owes him fifteen, and Brady and Collin owe Sam ten. Jared owes Embry ten and everybody owes Paul. Meanwhile, I owe Old Quil twenty, because I was so sure, and now I'll be broke. Couldn't you have waited just a few months longer?"

"No." Seth said firmly, and I wondered once more what was going on. Could it really be imprinting or was I just overreacting to some old legends coupled with meeting an attractive boy?

Finally I couldn't help myself. "Will someone please tell me what is going on?"

Kim looked shocked. "I thought you figured it out, Angela. You're so smart!"

She smiled at me. "Angela," she said calmly, "Seth imprinted on you. You're his imprint."

"What?" I sputtered. "I thought- I thought those stories weren't real."

"There just as real as you or me," Old Quil said wisely, sounding kind of like that Obi-Wan guy in Ben's favorite movie, I thought inconsequentially. I shook myself mentally to clear my muddled thoughts.

Seth looked just as dazed as I felt. "She-she's my imprint?"

"Yes." Old Quil said calmly.

"Oh," he said, and continued staring at me with that same dazed look.

We all stood around for another minute.

"Well," Old Quil said, "Are you going to come in or are you just going to stand there all day?"

"No, sir," I stammered, and we headed inside, where Old Quil directed us to sit at an old, musty smelling green sofa. Kim and Old Quil both got on the phone, and resumed talking very quickly. I sat at one end, and Seth sat at the other. I almost wanted to laugh. This was like a date, us sitting so far apart and yet sneaking glances at each other every few seconds.

I felt calm though, despite the fact that what the legends said was the love of my life was sitting not four feet away from me. I sneaked another look at him at the same time that he sneaked one at me, and when we met each other's eyes we blushed and looked away again. Ah. There was still some awkwardness. Well, I reasoned, that was only to be expected. After all, we had just met. I didn't even know how old he was, or even his last name! Lord help me, this was the boy I was destined to be with? I didn't know the first thing about him!

I felt kind of sorry for him, though. Whether he was a werewolf or not, he had imprinted on me, Angela Weber, newly single pastor's kid who wasn't even staying in Forks past September! And, I always thought that I was kind of a boring person. I was quiet, and prone to shyness, and had trouble making new friends. Not exactly the stuff of legends.

After I thought this, I looked at Seth. He was looking too, but this time he smiled a sheepish, nervous smile. I fell in love with him again- more things clicked into place. I felt suddenly sure of myself.

I decided to get to know him. After all, you have to get to know your imprint, right?

"So," I said. Seth jerked his head up in surprise at my suddenly breaking the silence. I could hear Old Quil and Kim quietly hang up their phones to watch discreetly.

"So," I started again (his eyes were distracting me), "Are you a werewolf?"

I wanted to smack myself on the forehead. Great way to make small talk, Angela! But to my immense relief, he smiled again, and replied, "Yes. But we are just guardians of La Push. Not the movie kind that changes into monsters. We're more like overgrown tame wolves protecting La Push from the dangers of undead strangers. And, we don't change at full moons- we can change whenever we want."

I thought about this for a second. It seemed pretty safe-sounding.

"Oh," I said, trying to sound casual. "So…can you maybe show me that sometime?"

"No!" Seth almost shouted. I flinched, and instantly he looked ashamed. " It's very dangerous for me to phase inside- we get really big, and I don't want to accidentally hurt you. Sorry for yelling. I just…don't want that to happen."

I was touched. "I understand completely," I told him.

We gazed at each other for another minute, before the silence was broken once more, but by Seth this time. "How old are you?" he asked.

"Nineteen," I answered.

"Oh. I'm…" he hesitated, obviously struggling between wanting to tell me the truth and not wanting to scare me off. "I'm sixteen."

I had figured he was about that age, even though his height and his features had suggested a twenty-something year old man. He smiled when he realized that I wasn't going to run off screaming.

We made some more small talk, and surprisingly it wasn't that awkward. I felt immediately at ease with Seth, and inch by inch we moved closer towards each other on the couch.

We were smiling at each other when Kim and Old Quil walked in, both clearing their throats. We jumped and hit our heads together.

"Ouch," I said, rubbing my forehead. Seth was rubbing his too. Seth touched my forehead gently with his hot fingers. He trailed them gently down my forehead, to my jaw, leaving a trail of fire on my skin. I couldn't move. I was stock-still with the feelings rising in me that accompanied his touch. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I gasped. I could feel the imprint pulling us together- it was unnaturally strong. I, for one of the first times in my life, did something impulsively. I reached my fingers out, and gently trailed them down his forehead to his jaw. His skin was hot, but not unbearably so. We sat like that, heads close together, fingers still resting on each other's faces. His eyes were dark and lively, and he was smiling. It was contagious- I found myself smiling too.

Kim cleared her throat again.

"You want something, Kim?" Seth asked without moving.

"Jacob wants to talk to you, Seth."

"He can talk later," Seth said. He winked at me, and I felt faint. I winked back, and his smile grew.

"He says there's a problem at the house. There's been one scented."

Seth didn't move, but I could feel him tense. Gently, he brought his other hand up and closed his fingers over mine on his jaw, which he squeezed softly before slowly bringing my hand down from his face. He sighed, and reluctantly brought his hand down from my face. Seth then gathered my hand in his huge hands, and kissed the back of it gently before leaving the room in a swift, silent blur.

It was quiet, then...

"When did Seth get so _smooth_?" Kim asked admiringly.


	9. Chapter 8

**Sorry for the delay- had testing at school and much writer's block.**

Chapter Eight:

I sat there for a moment, mind racing.

Kim sat down where Seth had been sitting.

"There are many things I need to explain to you," she said solemnly. With Seth's departure, the pull towards him lessened, so that I could concentrate and think clearly but I could still feel the cord binding us together. Some new instinct told me that I would always be able to find him, now that we were bonded. That thought was comforting.

Old Quil tactfully left the room, making his excuses.

"I'm going to visit Sue," he announced.

"Say hi to her for me," Kim called.

I remembered that Kim had told me two days ago, (it felt like years ago,) about Sue being the librarian while Kim was at school. She was also Seth's mother. The puzzle was starting to come together; each revelation a piece.

"Now," Kim started, and I flinched a little, having been lost in my thoughts.

"Now," she started again, "you have learned that the legends are true. Werewolves still exist in the Quileute tribe, but do you remember why they came into being recently, after almost a century of peace?"

Old Quil hadn't told me and Kim any werewolf stories set in our times. Probably because they weren't allowed to tell others. And now they could, because I was an imprint.

I thought, thought back to what seemed like ages ago with all that had happened. My life was now divided into two periods- Before Seth and After Seth.

The Old Angela had listened raptly to the stories, and memorized every detail.

"Cold Ones," I whispered. I felt afraid again, and fought the urge to look over my shoulder like I had the other night (years ago.)

"Yes," Kim said. "They are the reason the wolves exist. To destroy them and protect La Push from their menace. Seventy years ago, a coven of vampires came to Forks, and a pack was born. The members included the ancestors of many prominent members of our community, such as Old Quil's grandfather and Jacob Black's ancestor."

I nodded. That made sense. It also explained how Old Quil was so knowledgeable about the ways of the werewolves. He had lived in their time. Yet another piece of the puzzle was filled in.

"The wolves were poised to attack, when the leader of the coven came and said that he wanted to negotiate a treaty. His coven was friendly, he claimed, and he used the yellow color of his eyes as proof for that claim, that they fed only upon animals. The pack warily accepted the terms, but proposed a boundary line- the coven could not cross the boundaries of La Push. The vampires agreed, and we lived in harmony for many years before they left. The wolves began to "phase" less and less, until there were no more wolves. And then, just a few years ago, they came back. It was the same coven, but with two new members, a short vampire and a tall, scarred one. The scars were only discernible to the sharp eyes of the wolves, and they knew him for a warrior. The head of the coven took a job as a surgeon at a hospital, his exquisite self-control and heightened senses making him one of the nation's best surgeons. They attended school in Forks, pretending to be a family with foster teenagers. The blond ones pretended to be twins, and the three others pretended to be siblings. But, the wolves came-"

"Wait a minute," I interrupted, laughing. "Are you…are you talking about the Cullens?" I continued laughing, but Kim remained stone-faced.

"I'm serious, Angela. This is all true."

"But…but..the Cullens," I sputtered, still laughing.

"Angela…" Kim took my hand and looked me dead in the eye. I stopped laughing, which was good, because my laughs were beginning to take on a slightly hysterical edge.

I looked back, and I could see in her eyes, that even if the Cullens weren't vampires, Kim sincerely believed so.

"How…how do you know?" I whispered.

"There are many ways to know," Kim told me. "Their eye color may be different, red if they feed on humans, a topaz, golden color if they feed on animals."

_Their eyes were golden…_

"They are extremely pale, almost translucent in color."

_Their pale skin almost seemed to glow…_

"They sparkle in the light."

_A ray of sun hit Jasper Hale's arm, and he had shifted it away immediately._

"They move silently, like the hunters they are."

_Alice Cullen seemed to dance with every move she made…_

"They avoid the sun."

_The Cullens were always absent on the rare sunny days…_

"They never eat human food."

_The Cullens hardly ever ate lunch, and when they did, they looked disgusted…_

"They are inhumanly beautiful."

_Edward Cullen's bronze hair, Emmett's muscles, Rosalie's statuesque figure, Alice's pixie features, Jasper's lean grace, their eyes, their skin, their habits._

"They have special talents."

_Edward Cullen seemed like a mind-reader at times…_

"Do you believe me now?" Kim asked quietly.

"Yes."


	10. Chapter 9

**Author's note- This chapter was written with the help of which basically forces you to write a certain number of words in a certain amount of time, it's really cool. Obviously, it is highly unlikely I will "win" NaNoWriMo, being about 30k behind, but it's been fun. More chapters coming soon, I promise!**

Chapter Nine:

I sat and listened more raptly than I ever had before. As some character in one of Ben's favorite action movies had said, "things just got real."

I knew that this was heavy stuff now. Blood sucking vampires, people turning into wolves...

Kim explained all to me. But I was still sort of confused.

"Then why did the Cullens leave a couple years ago?It nearly crushed Bella, we all saw her. "

"Bella told Jacob Black about Edward's reasons. He was afraid to endanger her life by staying with her. I only met him once or twice, but he seems like the matyr-type."

I nodded. From what I had observed of Edward, he seemed exactly like that type.

"So, she knew he was a vampire?" I asked, wonderingly. There were so many little things that could be explained by this! The car, the way he could be so focused on Bella, as if she were breakable. And, it appeared, she was.

"I think the best idea to help you get used to being a 'wolf girl' is for you to meet the Cullens," Kim said. "I told you about the pack splitting, right?"

I nodded again. "Well, the Cullens are actually good friends with Jacob's pack- they work together, protecting the Washington area. Seth especially likes them, even though it goes against the fundamental principles of being a werewolf." She laughed. "But that's Seth for you."

"But..." I couldn't bring myself to finish the sentence...it made me seem so weak.

Kim, perceptive as ever, picked up on my thoughts. "Oh, are you worried that they might...attack?"

I flushed, embarrassed by my weakness, and managed a quick nod.

"Well, the Cullens have worked for almost a century to perfect their self control, they attend high school. Remember, Dr. Cullen is even a surgeon! And even though Bella... well, you'll see when you meet them. But trust me, you're in no danger from them. They're the nice kind of vampire. And," she added, grinning wickedly, "Seth will save you."

I flushed deeper at the mention of Seth.

I fished around for a subject change.

"So," I began, and pointed at her ring. "Jared's a werewolf?"

"Didn't I tell you?" she inquired, astonished. "There's so much to tell you, I guess I just forgot!" She smacked herself on the forehead and rolled your eyes.

"Let me go out on a limb here," I said teasingly, "He's a werewolf, and you're his imprint, right?"

"However did you find out?" She asked in mock disbelief. Then she grew serious, and her face seemed to take on almost a kind of glow as she started talking about Jared.

"You see, he's Sam's beta...made me this ring...married after I'm done with school...love..."

I smiled at her cheerfulness.

I could live with imprinting, especially if it meant I could get to know Kim even better.

Seth came back after about thirty minutes of Kim's rhapsodizing about Jared.

"Oh," he groaned. "You set her off, Angela! Now she'll never stop!" He shouted dramatically.

"Shut up," Kim said affectionately to Seth, and aimed a kick at him. He dodged it neatly, and gloated, "Too slow! Too slow!"

I watched this in laid-back amusement. Seth's contemplative mood seemed to have completely shifted to a more light-hearted one. I liked this side of him, and wondered how the issue earlier had been resolved.

Kim and Seth bickered for a minute or so, and Kim grew sober, and asked, "So...what happened with the vampire you scented?"

"Oh," Seth said casually. "We got him."

"So, he was a red-eye?"

"Oh, yeah," Seth said eagerly, "Real nasty one. We chased him through the greater part of Washington before Jacob and I took him down. Leah was our scout."

"Good job," Kim cheered, and gave Seth a high five- or at least, tried to- for he pulled his hand away right before she hit it and pretended to smooth his hair. "Oh!" he laughed as Kim put her hand down, glaring at him.

"You are so immature!" Kim complained loudly.

Seth looked at me and grinned. "You wouldn't want me any other way."

He looked back at Kim. "All right, truce." he declared, and held his fist out for a fist bump. Kim hesitantly reached her fist out to meet his, but at the last second Seth opened his hand and slapped her fist as if in a high-five, saying "Paper beats rock! Paper beats rock!"

I couldn't help myself. I burst out laughing at Kim's expression. She snarled under her breath, and Seth smiled sweetly at her. He turned his head and winked at me. I winked back.

"Come on," Kim said, patting the couch cousin between her and me. "Let's sit down and chat."

Seth looked from side to side, and sat down slowly, as if he were expecting a trick. After a minute of nothing happening, his shoulders relaxed, and he leaned back into the cushion.

Kim smiled at me and mouthed, "I'll get him. Play along."

I smiled back.

Then, she reached over to Seth's shoulder on my side, and tapped it. Seth turned towards me and asked, "Yes?" sounding eager to talk to me. I felt my heart melt a little, but kept my face resolutely blank.

Seth's face gained a look of dawning comprehension. He turned back towards Kim, who was doubled up in silent laughter. "Got you!" she crowed.

Seth turned back towards me. "Isn't she so immature?" He asked in a snotty voice, rolling his eyes. Kim smacked him with a pillow.

"Want to hear the fantastic tale of the heroic werewolf who saved our butts in an epic battle with a vampire?" he asked me, grinning yet again- (I quite liked his grin.)

"What werewolf?" Kim asked innocently, and looked around.

"Shut up," Seth told her. "I'm talking about a certain dashing, charming, handsome young werewolf named Seth Clearwater-"

"You forgot humble," I muttered teasingly.

Seth smiled even bigger at me- "I like you," he said, and nodded sagely.

"Now, where was I? Oh, yes, the young werewolf, clever, dashing, charming Seth Clearwater who helped bring down one of the biggest, baddest monsters that walk the yes, ladies," he intoned, "A vampire!" He widened his eyes in fright.

"Wake me up when he's done," Kim stage-whispered to me, as Seth continued.

"It was a dark and stormy night-"

"It's still morning," I interrupted, smiling innocently.

Seth glared at me as Kim giggled. "I'm embellishing," he said clearly, as though we were slow.

"Old Quil," Kim called.

After a few seconds, Old Quil poked his head back inside the room.

"Yes?" he asked.

"What happened this morning?" Kim asked sweetly. Seth made a noise of protest.

"Well, there was a vampire lurking about these parts, and Jacob's pack hunted it and got rid of it, because it was a threat to humans and young Renesmee."

Seth sighed, and slumped down in the sofa. "She always ruins my stories," he grumbled.

"Thanks, Old Quil!" Kim called. "Thanks a lot, Old Quil," Seth muttered.

Old Quil walked into the room and whacked Seth on the shin with his cane. Seth yelped and rubbed his shin. "Don't sass me, Seth Clearwater!" Old Quil barked. He glowered at Seth for a minute, and Seth stared back before they both started laughing.

I laughed too- Seth had that kind of infectious laugh and easygoing manner that made everyone want to be his friend.

"Kim, you're hogging me," Seth said suddenly. "I've barely talked to Angela at all! I hardly know the girl! Stranger danger, you know."

I stuck my tongue out at him- all my earlier nervousness seemed to have vanished after Seth came back. I felt that I could handle meeting a coven of vampires, anything, as long as I was with Seth. I liked the secure feeling I had around him.

Seth stuck out his hand towards me.

"Pleased to meet you," he said politely. "I'm Seth Clearwater."

"Pleased to meet you as well," I responded in the same tone. "I'm Angela Weber."

We shook hands, and the feeling of an electrical shock had not disappeared after that first touch- it was still there, making my heart flutter. I was sure that Seth, with his enhanced hearing, could hear my heart pumping so quickly. I flushed, and I heard a sudden intake of breath from him. Bringing my eyes up to meet his, I saw that he was gazing at me, and the rapt adoration he was looking at me with was so strong that I felt tempted to look over my shoulder for the person standing behind me. Surely he couldn't feel that strongly about me already! Surely I couldn't feel that strongly about_ him_ already! But then again, I guessed that that was how imprinting worked.

Seth and Kim and I spent all day talking. I learned so much about Seth, and he so much about me, that I felt I could write a book about him, about us. But I felt comforted, picturing the life we had ahead of us. And I knew that there were many more volumes of that book to write, and that together we would. And...and tomorrow, we agreed, it was time for me to meet the Cullens. I was nervous, but also excited at the prospect of seeing Bella again. I wondered how much she had changed in a year...


	11. Chapter 10

A/N Have resigned myself to the fact that I won't win NaNoWriMo, being only at 11k when I should be at 50k. Don't worry, I will continue this story! I have fallen in love with this story, and will see it through!

This is unedited because it is NaNoWriMo. :D It was written in about twenty something minutes with Write or Die, so plot may be a bit funky. I will fix it later, though.

Chapter Ten:

That night I went to bed early, my head swimming with thoughts of Seth. I wondered if he was thinking about me. I bet he was, since I could feel the imprint inside me, a thick cord, binding me to him.

Mustering up my concentration, I pulled on the slack rope. It tightened, and I could feel Seth jerk into awareness. Hesitantly, he whispered(?I didn't know if it was a whisper or a thought...) _Angela?_

_Seth_, I whispered(?) back. Then I dropped the connection, a little freaked out by this sudden intimacy. I could sense Seth's shock on the other end, and knew that he could sense mine. It was just too strange.

I lay in my bed, wondering. What was that all about? I knew Seth wasn't offended though, I could just tell.

Pushing the strange communication out of my mind so I could deal with it later, (or at least ask Kim about it,) I quickly fell asleep. I woke in the morning as if somebody had yelled in my ear, in a cold sweat. I had a odd premonition...Something, my gut warned me, something is different...I wondered if it had to do with Bella.

My mind, ever practical, told the instinct, the premonition that I was going to see Bella and the Cullens today. I would find out whatever it was (if there was anything important) later this morning.

Something tugged at my mind, and I lay there, gently concentrating on it. I wondered how Bella and Edward had done at university. It was weird- I wasn't used to my imagination running away with me like this. It must be the effect of hearing all of those fantastical legends and then finding out that they weren't just legend- they were fact. That had to put a strain on a girl, and I hoped Kim would be able to give me advice.

I didn't want to embarrass myself in front of all the other imprints, after all. I got dressed in a flash, and ran out the door, only stopping to grab a piece of toast and kiss my mother on the forehead. "Hope you have a great day!" she called after me.

_Yeah,_ I thought, _that makes two of us._ How would this turn out to be? I was going with a werewolf to a house full of vampires. Sure, they were friendly vampires, but everyone makes mistakes. At least Seth had promised to come with me. Kim had told me that Seth was good friends with the Cullens, and Seth seemed like a pretty good judge of character. At the very least, he would be able to protect me if the Cullens attacked.

What was I thinking? I knew the Cullens were nice- though they kept to themselves, they had displayed many simple acts of kindness during high school. I remembered Edward helping freshmen find classes, Emmett protecting a short kid from a bully, Alice telling people when a pop quiz was coming. Everyone respected Alice for her uncanny ability to sense when a surprise test was coming- looking back it was obvious to me that she was psychic.

My hands were shaking slightly on the steering wheel. It was only natural to fear creatures that preyed on humans. The Cullens were vegetarians, though, I reminded my overactive imagination. They were kind and helpful and would never do anything to harm me. I wondered how Bella was able to spend so much time with them, to live with Edward. She had gotten married, I knew, but I had gone off to college for an early class after the wedding. I hoped their honeymoon had gone well.

I arrived at the library with a lot of time to spare- Kim was waiting for me outside, talking on her cell phone excitedly. I got out of the car, and she waved at me, never breaking the flow of conversation. "So, we're going to visit them today..." She was talking to somebody about our visit to the Cullens. Probably her werewolf imprint Jared, Sam's beta.

After our talk yesterday I knew all sorts of little uninteresting facts about Jared, well uninteresting to me. I didn't really care what his favorite color was or what his favorite TV show was. Kim did though, and she had talked about it to me for quite a while before Seth came. I smiled at the memory of yesterday.

As I drew nearer, she flipped the phone shut, after a brief good-bye. Cheerfully, she greeted me, and taking my arm, took me to an old, but well-maintained car that she said had been hers for two years. I got in the passenger seat, and Kim said, "It's a long drive to the Cullens. Seth is meeting us there." I remembered- I had gone to Bella's graduation party. Of course, I hadn't known that the Cullens were vampires then, and that put a bit of a different spin on the whole thing.

I knew that it was a very old but beautifully restored house that Mrs. Cullen had put lots of work into. The result was a breathtakingly lovely, elegant house. The back wall was entirely windows.

I was lost in my thoughts for a while, and was started back into reality when Kim stopped the car, announcing, "We're there!"

A cottage had been added to the side of the house, a little ways off. But otherwise, the house looked exactly how I had remembered it. I wondered whether the Cullens and Bella would be the same.


	12. The REAL Chapter Eleven

**This is one of the shortest, wimpiest chapters ever. It's a half chapter. More will be coming soon, and I apologize for this weird short chapter. I've been on a school related hiatus and will still be writing, but updates will be slower. I love this story, and will continue writing it, don't worry. It will just be slower updates from now on. Happy Holidays, all!**

Chapter Eleven:

Bella came running out of the house to greet us. I instantly noticed a change- she didn't trip on anything or even give the slightest stumble. Instead she ran gracefully to where we stood outside the car, and smoothly came to a halt, holding out her hand.

I shook it and felt how hard, smooth and icy it was- it felt like granite. Then I looked into her perfect, pale face, and into her golden eyes.

Can you blame me for fainting?

When I came to, Kim and Seth were standing over me, their faces creased with worry.

"Angela?" Seth said. "Angela?"

I got up self-consciously, brushing off my jeans. How embarrassing! I always prided myself on my ability to stay calm, and here I was, swooning like a woman from a cheesy romance novel. I blushed, and said awkwardly, "Where's Bella?"

"She's inside," Seth answered.

"I'm sorry!" Kim burst out. "We should have told you before, but I thought it might be better if you found out yourself! I'm so sorry!"

"It's okay," I told her. Then… "Oh."

Oh was definitely not the word for it. A block of knowledge seemed to hit me, little things adding up and giving me a sum that I wasn't sure I was ready to handle.

Bella was one of them. A vampire.

"Well…" I said weakly. "They do say people change quite a bit when they go to college."

Seth laughed, and I could feel his relief that I was taking it so well.

I beamed at him, and he flashed one of his winning smiles my way. I almost forgot about the fact that one of my best friends was now a bloodthirsty creature of the night.

I looked around, wondering where Bella had gone.

"She went back in the house," Seth answered my unspoken question. "She thought that might be the best option at the moment."

"Wh- When?" I asked hoarsely. This was so much to find out, so soon. All these monsters from movies and legends were real, real and all around me. I was standing with a werewolf outside a house of vampires. And I was in love with the werewolf, too.

"Last summer, after the honeymoon. Come inside," he said, holding out his hand.

"I'll let her tell you the story."

I took his hand, and its warmth gave me courage. I took a deep breath.

"Let's go."

And the three of us walked into the house.

Bella was waiting for us in the open, airy main room.

She was sitting on a couch, looking breathtakingly beautiful.

Then she patted the seat next to her and said playfully, "Come on, I don't bite."

And the tension was broken. I sat down next to her, and Seth, still holding my hand, sat on my other side.

Bella looked at our hands and laughed to herself gently, a beautiful silvery sound.


	13. Chapter 12

"Well," she began, "I've never been the world's best storyteller, and my memories of being human are rather blurry now, but I'll try." She bit her lip gently, one of the habits it appeared that she had retained from when she was still alive.

"When I moved to Forks, it was my own decision, but I was still unhappy. Starting in the middle of the year at a school where everybody knew who I was, even people I'd never met, was difficult, since I didn't know any of them. That first day, I walked into Biology. The only seat was by Edward Cullen, and he seemed very, very frustrated at that fact. I couldn't understand why he hated me, but didn't get a chance to ask him- he was gone for the next few days. Eventually, he began to talk to me, and then in Port Angeles..." She shivered a little, even though she wasn't cold and never would be.

"In Port Angeles, I was cornered by a few men. They were going to...well, you know. And then Edward, in some of the most spectacular driving I have ever seen in my life-" she chuckled "-screeched in and saved me. And then we found you and Jessica. Edward answered a lot of questions that night, and I began to figure out what he was. And then, I met his family. We were going to play baseball-"

I couldn't help myself; I snorted. The idea of vampires playing baseball was too funny to resist.

"Apparently, it's America's past-time," she said with a laugh. "And then, three vampires appeared. They were not like the Cullens- their crimson eyes showed their choice of diet. It was a tense situation, but we were going to be fine, until one of them, James, caught my scent. 'You brought a snack?' he asked Edward incredulously. Edward defended me, and that set James off. You see, he was a tracker, and he had just found what he thought would be the most exciting game of his life. We left as soon as we could, and Alice, Jasper and I headed south, toward Phoenix. Long story short- He lured me to my old dance studio by leading me to believe he had my mother, attacked me, and was ripped into pieces when the Cullens arrived. He had bitten me, and I would have become a vampire then, but Edward sucked the venom out, a task that I am just now beginning to appreciate the enormity of."

I listened, rapt.

"We were happy, but Edward was worried that by remaining with me, he was endangering me. At my birthday party, I accidentally got a papercut, and Jasper was about to attack. Edward pushed me out of the way, but I fell on plates, which broke, and rather exacerbated the situation. Edward became convinced that I would be better off without him, and they left."

It was my turn to shiver-I remembered the gaunt, walking skeleton, that Bella had become.

"I went cliff-diving one day at La Push. Alice saw it in a vision, and thought I was committing suicide. She told Rosalie, who called Edward. My father was gone at Harry Clearwater's funeral-"

I felt Seth tense next to me, and I gripped his hand tighter.

"And Jacob answered the phone. When Edward asked for Charlie, Jacob said that he was at the funeral. So Edward, went to the Volturi, the "royalty" of our kind, and asked them to kill him. They said no, because they needed his extraordinary talent of mind-reading in their coven. Alice and I managed to get there after committing grand theft auto and bribing managed to get out of there, and went back."

"Then, the murders started. Someone was creating an army of new-borns, to destroy the Cullens. Their leader was Victoria, James' mate, who wished to avenge his death. Banding together with the La Push werewolves, a task that was not easy, considering that vampires and werewolves are natural enemies, we managed to fight them, Seth playing a major role in the battle."

I turned and looked at Seth. He was smirking.

"Finally, Edward and I were married. However, we didn't know that...he was still...fertile. And so I became pregnant with a fetus that developed at an advanced rate. I got weaker and weaker, but I wanted to keep the baby. After a lot of pain, the baby was born, and to save me from death, I was changed. Not exactly how Edward and I had planned my transformation, you see. But that didn't diminish the love I already felt for my daughter. After I hunted, I was allowed to see her again, and surprisingly, I adapted to hunting animals quickly. She was beautiful, and I named her Renesmee, a combination of Renee, my mother's name, and Esme. And...much to Edward's consternation, Jacob imprinted on her. Of course, he'll only view her as a little sister. When she matures, which should be in about six years, give or take, then his feelings will change. However, someone had told the Volturi that we had made a child into a vampire, something that is strictly forbidden by the Volturi. They came to see if the allegations were true, and instead found Renesmee, who is half-vampire, half-human. It could have been a nasty battle, but with some diplomacy and a little help from many other vampires Carlisle had befriended over the years, danger was averted. And so, here we are today, and I'm sure I left many details out, but I hope you have some sort of idea of what's been going on the past few years."


	14. Chapter 13

a/n-you may call this a filler chapter, my dears, but I think I actually have the plot and arc figured out. finally. woot-woot! sorry for the delay.

reviews, as always, are very much appreciated. let me know what you liked, what you didn't, where you think the story should lead, because I always take suggestions into consideration when plotting! :D

* * *

I closed my eyes and tried to absorb all of this. Okay, so mythical creatures existed. Got it. And they had epic battles. Check. And people I knew were creatures of the undead. All right. And I was rapidly falling in love with a werewolf. Okay.

I was happy for Edward and Bella though. They had the sort of fairytale romance normally only encountered on the silver screen or in mass-market paperback. Idly, I wondered what Dad would say if he knew I was consorting with people who were possibly damned. Knowing him, he'd probably tell me to invite them to church.

Edward gave an undignified snort. I hadn't noticed him come in, but I knew he had heard me with his gift.

"Something funny, Edward?" Bella asked him.

"Never mind." He waved her off.

"Could I possibly meet Renesmee?" I asked, tongue tripping over the name.

"Just call her Nessie," Seth said in a stage whisper. "We all do."

Bella threw a pillow at him.

"Chill out, Cold One!" He laughed uproariously at his own joke. Bella looked at me with those strange amber eyes, and rolled them exaggeratedly.

I smiled and said, "Don't attack poor Seth. It's not very humane." Seth and I snickered at that and I could hear Emmett's distinctive chuckle from the living room, cutting off as he yelled, "ARE YOU BLIND?"

I looked at Bella.

"Baseball."

"Ah." A crash came from the next room.

"If Emmett's smashed the cable box again, Alice is going to be piiii-ssssseddd," Seth sang out.

I looked at Bella again.

"Days of Our Lives. Somehow she's always surprised."

"Ah."

"Can I get you anything to drink?" Bella asked. I couldn't help it- I flinched away from her. Seth put a warm hand on my shoulder and glared at Bella.

"You scared her!"

Bella's eyes widened and the stunned look made her look even more striking.

"Holy crow, I'm sorry, Angela!" I felt sheepish.

"I'm sorry. I'm only human," I said solemnly, with a shrug. And with that the tension dissipated.

"So," Seth said cheerily. "We've got A positive, Type O, (the universal donor)," he wiggled his eyebrows at me, "or...let's see...."

"'s fine by me."

"Your wish is my command," Seth said, bowing as he exited the room. When he came back mere seconds later, he had a towel draped over his arm.

"Your Dr. Peepeeer," he declared in a truly awful French accent, "eez sairved."

He placed the glass on the table and Bella swiftly put a coaster under it.

"Wow, Seth," came a drawling female voice from the door. "Everyday you reach new heights of idiocy." She applauded. "Congratulations on finally reaching the peak of imbecility."

"I could nayvair aachieve zis wizzout zee help of zee leetle people like you, ma cherie," Seth said humbly.

The girl stepped into the room, a mocking smile on her face. Looking me up and down scornfully, she sneered, rolled her eyes, and said, "What's this, Seth? A female willing to get within three feet of you?" She clasped her hands to her heart dramatically. "Why, this makes me believe in miracles! Though...well, she must not know you. Or maybe she's stupid. Either way, I pity her." She glared at me, with a strangely intense look of dislike, and though I had never met her before, she looked at me as though there were a grudge between us, as if I'd taken something from her and she hated me for it.

"Lay off Seth, Leah," Bella said in a tone that suggested this was an oft-repeated statement.

The girl drew herself to her full height and locked gazes with Bella. She seemed to size Bella up with her eyes, considering a fight, but Bella just smiled blandly at her. Eventually, the girl broke the broke the silence that had fallen with a disdainful snort, turned on her heel, and glided out of the room noiselessly. The smile disappeared from Bella's face, and she looked hurt for a second as she stared after the strange, aggressive girl as though she...pitied her. But soon a smooth mask was over Bella's face, and only those who really knew her would be able to discern her feelings.

I wondered what was with that angry girl, why she seemed to exude bitterness, why she seemed to hate me already.

She must be Seth's sister, the one Kim had mentioned a few times while talking about Jared. What had happened to her that had made her so bitter? I could tell that she hadn't always been like that, that once upon a time happiness must have graced those dignified features, that she hadn't always carried herself with that much tension, at ease and yet confrontational in her very posture.

Seth was staring at the floor. "Sorry she was rude to you, Angela. She's like that to everyone."

I was startled out of my contemplation. "Oh! Oh, it was no big deal." I frowned, and Bella, who knew me so well, said gently, "She's wondering why Leah was so..."

"Bitchy?" Seth finished for her. I looked at him, and he seemed unaffected by what Leah had said, just angry at her behavior towards me.

"Well, that too," I said finding my voice. "But...she seems like she hates me. And I've never even seen her before in my life."

Seth and Bella exchanged looks. Seth gave a reluctant sigh and nodded slightly to Bella.

"Once," he said gravely, "my sister was happy."

I nodded in encouragement- it was obvious that this was something difficult for Seth to talk about deeply, without any jokes to deflect the severity of the topic.

"She was in love. High school sweethearts with Sam. Sam Uley. They were going to get married. Then Sam missed school for a week. Everyone thought he had run away, but no one could fathom why. The Elders figured it out. He was becoming a werewolf. He came back, and though he wasn't allowed to tell Leah what had happened, they made it work. She learned not to ask about his disappearances, though she had doubts. But they were happy. Until...Leah's cousin came. Emily was Leah's best friend. Her sister. Her partner in crime. Sam took one look at Emily and he was gone."

"He..."

"He imprinted. And he couldn't tell Leah what had happened. Leah broke up with him. She was shattered by his betrayal. And Emily's betrayal. Leah and Sam were practically engaged. The next time Leah saw them, Emily was wearing an engagement ring. And Emily asked Leah, had the nerve, to ask her to be her bridesmaid. Her maid of honor. Leah, once she changed, realized what had happened. It didn't change things though. And since Sam was the leader of our pack, Leah had to see their love, hear Sam's incessant apologies--he didn't know how he could make things right--and he didn't want to, he was so madly in love with Emily. "

Seth twisted his face up, and I saw how concerned he was for his sister. He continued,

"So Leah hates imprinting, since it took the pure, true love she and Sam had, and destroyed it in a matter of seconds, for something that was apparently stronger and truer. She loves Sam still, hates imprinting, and hates those who fall into its trap, as she views it. She thinks Sam was weak and Emily was weak and his love wasn't strong enough to fight this. And she lives with it everyday. And that," Seth finished, "is why my sister is such a bitch."


End file.
